Coast to Coast EduClips: 7 Storylines We鈥檙e Watching in 7 of America鈥檚 Biggest School Districts
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The education headlines this week have been dominated by talk of school discipline.
After decades of research pointing to racial disparities in the way schools suspend and expel kids, the Obama administration issued a warning to education leaders across the country: Eliminate discriminatory policies or face the consequences. That 鈥淒ear Colleague鈥� letter, issued in 2014, informed school districts that their discipline policies constituted 鈥渦nlawful discrimination鈥� under federal civil rights law if they didn鈥檛 explicitly mention race but had a 鈥渄isproportionate and unjustified effect on students of a particular race.鈥� Critics contend that the guidance forced districts to adopt 鈥渞acial quotas鈥� and caused chaos in schools across the country.
Now with President Donald Trump and Education Secretary Betsy DeVos at the helm of federal policymaking, the guidance document鈥檚 biggest critics are fighting for a big change. Tuesday morning, The 74鈥檚 Mark Keierleber published a long look back at the research on racial disparities in school discipline, investigating the platforms of recent Education Department hires and appointees and interviewing key advocates on both sides of the debate as federal officials weigh changes to one of the Obama administration鈥檚 signature education legacies. Read his feature here.
Meanwhile, across the country, very different issues are driving local education conversations. Here are seven storylines we鈥檙e watching this week from states that are home to America鈥檚 dozen biggest school districts 鈥� and more than 4 million public school students:
New York 鈥� Renewal Schools: More than half of New York City鈥檚 Renewal Schools鈥� are
California 鈥� Leading Democratic candidates for governor
Illinois 鈥� State鈥檚 lieutenant governor looks to boost rural schools
Florida 鈥� for hurricane-displaced students
Nevada 鈥� State officials admit that
Texas 鈥� Held Back: Some for elementary students
Virginia 鈥� State becomes first in nation
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